Former India batsman VVS Laxman was surprised with the amount of grass on the pitches in the UAE for the ongoing second leg of the IPL 2021. The pitches have more juice in them and fast bowlers have made merry in the three matches seen thus far.

Laxman, who is also the mentor of the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) franchise, wrote in his column for the Times of India, about the green top surfaces teams have gotten in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the IPL 2021 matches thus far.

"I haven't seen so much grass on pitches in the UAE, ever. Much of it is to do with the fact that the T20 World Cup will be staged at these same grounds almost immediately on the back of the IPL, and the curators are desperate to ensure the global event isn't played out on tired, worn tracks.

Particularly in the first match in Dubai, there was an appreciable lateral movement for the Mumbai Indians pacers in the Powerplay, at the end of which Chennai Super Kings found themselves at 24 for four and minus the services of Ambati Rayudu, forced to retire hurt," Laxman wrote.

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He talked about the trends he has noticed in this half of the IPL 2021 in UAE especially with lesser-known players making contributions.

"The resumption of IPL 2021 has been marked by one relatively one-sided game and another totally lopsided encounter in the first two matches played at two different venues. There have been two noticeable trends. The first is that teams batting first have struggled in the early part of the contest. The other is that the lesser-known players if you like, have made telling contributions," he wrote.

SRH will face Delhi Capitals in Dubai to resume their tournament and Laxman wrote that the franchise is aware of the huge challenge in front of them as they have won only one match in 7 encounters in the first half.

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"As we prepare for our first game on Wednesday against Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad are aware of the magnitude of the challenge that confronts us. One of the things we have emphasized to our playing group is not thinking about a playoff spot. All we can do is focus on the processes, execute our game plans and see where that takes us.

We will miss Jonny Bairstow, who has opted to give this leg the miss, but even though he is no longer the captain, I expect great performances from Davey Warner, one of the bulwarks of Sunrisers Hyderabad for a long time now," Laxman concluded.

(TOI inputs)